Yes, Michigan did have good luck: One of the game's most highly-touted coaches happens to be an alum of theirs, and he happened to have been on the outs with the 49ers at the very time Michigan most desperately needed a home-run hire.

ND's problem is, given the same luck, ND would've found a way to fuck it up. That's essentially what happened with Gruden. Of course, ND is light-years away from creating its own opportunities, as it could've done with Saban in both 1999 and 2004, quite likely with Coughlin in 2001, and possibly with Stoops in 2009.